Fishing game

ABSTRACT

A kit including a game table, a game piece removably mountable to the game table, and a fishing rod is described. The game piece includes a game piece body defining two opposite sidewalls and a v-shaped notch. The game piece also includes a ring-shaped element mounted at least partially in the v-shaped notch. The fishing rod includes a pole, a line attached to the pole, and a hook attached to the line. The hook is shaped so as to be capable of hooking the ring-shaped element. Game play with elements of the kit allow both children and adults to compete to capture game pieces using the fishing rods in a manner that is competitive, challenging, and fun.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to games, and, moreparticularly, to games that simulate fishing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While video games have gained significant popularity of late, there isstill a large population of game players that enjoy games that areembodied in tangible form. These “tangible” games are particularlypopular when they involve a combination of physical skill and mentalstrategy rather than solely strategy or blind luck. Such games mayprovide many hours of entertainment to both children and adults.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention address the above-identified needsby providing games that simulate fishing, which are both mentally andphysically challenging, as well as appropriate for adults and children.

Aspects of the invention are directed to a kit comprising a game table,a game piece removably mountable to the game table, and a fishing rod.The game piece comprises a game piece body defining two oppositesidewalls and a v-shaped notch. The game piece also comprises aring-shaped element mounted at least partially in the v-shaped notch.The fishing rod comprises a pole, a line attached to the pole, and ahook attached to the line. The hook is shaped so as to be capable ofhooking the ring-shaped element.

Additional aspects of the invention are directed to a method of playinga game. A game table is received, and a game piece is removably mountedto the the game table. The game piece comprises a game piece bodydefining two opposite sidewalls and a v-shaped notch. The game piecealso comprises a ring-shaped element mounted at least partially in thev-shaped notch. A fishing rod is received with the fishing rodcomprising a pole, a line attached to the pole, and a hook attached tothe line. The hook is shaped so as to be capable of hooking thering-shaped element. The fishing rod is manipulated to cause the hook tohook the ring-shaped element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a game kit in accordance with anillustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows elevational views of representative fish pieces in the FIG.1 game kit, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a representative fish piece in theFIG. 1 game kit;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a representative boot piece in theFIG. 1 game kit;

FIG. 5 shows an elevational view of a representative score board in theFIG. 1 game kit;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the game table in the FIG. 1 gamekit;

FIG. 7 shows an elevational view of a representative fishing rod in theFIG. 1 game kit;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show elevational views of two types of hooks that may beused with the FIG. 7 fishing rod;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of elements of the FIG. 1 game kitconfigured for the start of play;

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a partially broken top perspective view and anexploded bottom perspective view, respectively, of the FIG. 5 game tablewith the addition of optional rockers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described with reference to illustrativeembodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made tothese embodiments and the results will still come within the scope ofthe invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein are intended or should be inferred.

Several terms are used herein and in the appended claims to account fornormal manufacturing tolerances with respect to the elements beingdescribed. The term “substantially the same as” means the same withinten percent. The term “substantially different from” means different bymore than twenty percent. The terms “substantially parallel to” and“substantially perpendicular to” mean within twenty degrees of perfectlyparallel and perfectly perpendicular, respectively.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a game kit 100 in accordance with anillustrative embodiment of the invention. The illustrative game kit 100includes several components: a game table 105; two fishing rods 110;nine fish pieces 115; two boot pieces 117; and two score boards 120.

Each of the nine fish pieces 115 is marked with a respective numeral(hereinafter, a “fish piece value”). In the present illustrativeembodiment, two of the fish pieces 115 are marked with fish piece value“1”; two are marked with fish piece value “2”; two are marked with fishpiece value “3”; two are marked with fish piece value “4”; and one ismarked with fish piece value “5.” FIG. 2 shows elevational views of fiveof the nine fish pieces 115, while FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of arepresentative one of the fish pieces 115.

The representative fish piece 115 in FIG. 3 comprises a fish piece body122, a pair of plastic eyes 125, and a ring-shaped element 130. The fishpiece body 122 is shaped to invoke the idea of a vertically-standingfish, with a tail-like shape at its bottom and a v-shaped, mouth-likenotch 135 at its top. The pair of eyes 125 occupy opposite parallelsidewalls 140 of the fish piece 115. The ring-shaped element 130 (e.g.,a grommet) occupies the notch 135 and is oriented parallel to theparallel sidewalls 140 (i.e., the central axis of the ring-shapedelement 130 is perpendicular to the parallel sidewalls 140). Therepresentative fish piece body 122 further defines a fish piece hole 145in its bottom.

Each of the other fish pieces 115 is likewise configured with its ownrespective fish piece body 122, pair of eyes 125, ring-shaped element130, notch 135, pair of parallel sidewalls 140, and fish piece hole 145.

Table I indicates some physical properties for the illustrative fishpieces 115. It is reinforced, however, that these values are bothapproximate and intended to be illustrative only. The values are thusnon-limiting with respect to the scope of the invention. Maximum heights(max height) are measured without measuring the ring-shaped elements130. As indicated in the Table, the inside diameters of the ring-shapedelements 130 (inside ring diameters) get progressively smaller as thefish piece values increase. At the same time, the fish pieces 115 withfish piece values “1” through “4” have approximately the same bodydimensions, but the fish piece 115 with fish piece value “5” issubstantially smaller than the others.

TABLE I Physical Properties of Fish Pieces INSIDE RING MAX MAX FISHPIECE DIAMETER HEIGHT WIDTH DEPTH WEIGHT VALUE (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (g) 13.3 14 11 1.9 83 2 2.5 3 2.0 4 1.6 5 1.2 12 6.8 40

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a representative one of the bootpieces 117. The boot piece 117 is shaped to invoke the idea of a bootand includes a boot ring 147 at its top and a boot piece peg 148 at itsbottom. In the present illustrative embodiment, the boot ring 147 issubstantially identical to the ring-shaped element 130 associated withthe fish pieces 115 having a fish piece value of “3.” That is, the bootring 147 has an inside diameter of about 2.0 cm. The boot piece 117 hasa maximum height of about 6.6 cm (not including the boot ring 147 or theboot piece peg 148), a maximum width of about 8.0 cm, a depth of about1.8 cm, and a weight of about 28 g. The other boot piece 117 is largelyidentical. The boot pieces 117 are labeled with the value “−3” (i.e.,the numerical symbols for minus three).

FIG. 5 shows an elevational view of a representative one of the scoreboards 120 in the game kit 100. The score board 120 is also shaped likea fish and includes 30 scoring holes 150 with 29 of the scoring holes150 labeled sequentially “1” through “29.” A scoring peg 155 allowsscore to be kept for a given player by moving the scoring peg 155 intothe appropriate scoring holes 150 as the game progresses. The scoreboard 120 further includes a score board peg 160 at its bottom. Theother score board 120 is largely identical.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the game table 105 in the game kit100. The game table 105 defines a round disk 165 with a diameter ofabout 45 cm. A top surface 170 of the game table 105 defines eight fishpiece pegs 175 arranged circumferentially about a ninth,centrally-positioned fish piece peg 175. The fish piece pegs 175 aresized to engage the fish piece holes 145 in the bottoms of the fishpieces 115 so that each of the fish pieces 115 can be removably mountedto the game table 105. The game table 105 further defines two rod holes180 capable of receiving ends of the fishing rods 110, and two bootpiece holes 185 sized to receive the boot piece pegs 148 of the bootpieces 117 or the score board pegs 160 of the score boards 120. The gametable 105 is thereby equipped with pegs and holes that allow it tosupport the fishing rods 110, the fish pieces 115, and the boot pieces117 in the manner indicated in FIG. 1. It is noted, however, that inother embodiments falling within the scope of the invention, thearrangement of pegs and associated holes may be inverted from what isset forth above. For example, in one more alternative embodiments, thefish pieces 115 may define the pegs and the game table 105 may definethe associated holes.

FIG. 7 shows an elevational view of a representative one of the twofishing rods 110 in the illustrative game kit 100. In the presentembodiment, the representative fishing rod 110 defines an elongate pole190 with a proximal end of a fishing line 195 attached at one end. Theelongate pole 190 has a length of about 91 cm, while the fishing line195 has a length of about 72 cm. A colored bobber 200 is threaded on thefishing line 195, and a hook clip connector 205 and a hook 210 areattached to a distal end of the fishing line 195. The other fishing rod110 is likewise configured, but with a different colored bobber 200. Oneof many hook designs may be utilized. Two such designs are shown inelevation in FIGS. 8 and 9. In FIG. 8, the hook 210 is of a trebledesign. In FIG. 9, an alternative hook 210′ is of a single-prongeddesign. The hooks 210, 210′ are covered in plastic to aid in safe gameplay.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the fish pieces 115 and the bootpieces 117 arranged on the game table 105 as might be the case wereelements of the game kit 100 initially set up for game play. In thisarrangement, the eight fish pieces 115 with fish piece values “1”-“4”are arranged circumferentially about the game table 105 utilizing thefish piece holes 145 in the fish pieces 115 and the corresponding fishpiece pegs 175 in the game table 105. The smaller fish piece 115 withfish piece value “5” is positioned in the center of the game table 105using its own fish piece hole 145 and the corresponding fish piece peg175 in the game table 105. The boot pieces 117 with their boot piecepegs 148 occupy the two boot piece holes 185.

The game is generally played by having players manipulate the fishingrods 110 via the elongate poles 190 to cause the hooks 210 to hook thering-shaped elements 130 of the fish pieces 115, and then to furthermanipulate the fishing rods 110 to lift the fish pieces 115 way from thegame table 105. Game play may occur by utilizing various rules, but noparticular rules set forth herein are intended to limit the scope of theinvention. In one illustrative embodiment, a game play process occurs asfollows:

-   -   1. The game table 105 is placed on the floor between two chairs        about four feet apart;    -   2. The fish pieces 115 with fish piece values “1”-“4” are placed        circumferentially on the game table 105 in random order, but        oriented with one of their eyes 125 facing outward (FIG. 10);    -   3. The smaller fish piece 115 with fish piece value “5” is        placed in the center of the game table 105 (FIG. 10);    -   4. The boot pieces 117 are placed near the center of the game        table 105 (FIG. 10);    -   5. The players are seated in the two chairs and each player        attempts to hook and remove as many fish pieces 115 as possible        from the game table 105 for a two-minute timed period utilizing        only the fishing rods 110;    -   6. At the end of the first two-minute time period, each player        adds up the fish piece values of those fish pieces 115 hooked by        that player, records it on a respective score board 120, and the        fish pieces 115 are returned to the game table 105 (FIG. 10);    -   7. A player wins when he obtains exactly 25 points;    -   8. If a player has more than 25 points, additionally hooked fish        pieces 115 are subtracted from his score until he is again below        25 points;    -   9. If a player hooks a boot piece 117, the other player must        subtract 3 points from his score. However, a player may only        hook a boot piece 117 once per game;    -   10. A second two-minute timed period and additional one-minute        timed periods are played as necessary until one player wins.    -   11. Fish pieces 115 and boot pieces 117 that fall over but are        still on the game table 105 may still be hooked;    -   12. Fish pieces 115 and boot pieces 117 that fall off the game        table 105 but are not hooked are out-of-play; and    -   13. If two players simultaneously hook the same fish piece 115        or boot piece 117, that piece is considered out-of-play and is        removed from the game table 105 for that timed round.

In alternative game play processes, a non-timed game has each player tryto hook fish pieces 115 in order from fish piece value “1” to “5.” Theperson to first hook the fish piece 115 with fish piece value “5” wins.

While not limiting, the various designs set forth above have been shownto provide excellent game play with the game kit 100 actually reduced topractice, meaning that the game is competitive while not being overlydifficult or overly easy. As indicated above with reference to Table I,internal ring diameter decreases with fish piece value. The difficultyin hooking a fish piece 115 therefore becomes greater as the value ofthat fish piece increases. At the same time, switching from the use of atreble hook (FIG. 8) to a single-pronged, j-shaped hook (FIG. 9),substantially increases the challenge of the game.

The elements of the game kit 100 can be sourced commercially ormanufactured from readily available materials utilizing well understoodmanufacturing methods. For example, the eyes 125, the ring-shapedelements 130, the boot rings 147, the fishing line 195, the coloredbobbers 200, the hook clip connectors 205, and the hooks 210, 210′ arereadily available commercially. In some embodiments, the eyes 125 may bereplaced by holes drilled into the fish bodies 122. The remainingelements may be made from, as just two examples, wood or plastic viacommon woodworking or plastic forming techniques that will already befamiliar to one having ordinary skill in the relevant arts. Havingelements of the game be made of wood introduces somewhat of a nostalgic,hand-made feel to the game kit 100, which may be appealing to manyconsumers. In even additional embodiments, the fishing rods may be madeat least in part of fiberglass.

Furthermore, to make the game kit 100 even more challenging, a pair ofdetachable, arcuate rockers 215 may optionally be added to the bottom ofthe game table 105 to allow the game table 105 to rock during game play.FIG. 11 shows a partially broken top perspective view of the game table105 with the rockers 215 attached, while FIG. 12 shows an explodedbottom perspective view of the same elements. The rockers 215 includerocker pins 220 that engage rocker holes 225 in the bottom of the gametable 105. Each rocker 215 includes a respective arcuate edge surface230 that is oriented away from the game table 105 when the rocker 215 isattached to the game table 105.

It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments ofthe invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodimentscan use different types and arrangements of elements for implementingthe described functionality. For example, a game kit falling within thescope of the invention could have very different designs and dimensionsfrom that shown in the above-described illustrative embodiments. Thesenumerous alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claimswill be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Moreover, all the features disclosed herein may be replaced byalternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes,unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly statedotherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a genericseries of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function or “step for” performing a specifiedfunction is not to be interpreted as a “means for” or “step for” clauseas specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. §112(f). In particular, the use of “stepsof” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA35 U.S.C. §112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. A kit comprising: a game table; a game pieceremovably mountable to the game table and comprising: a game piece bodydefining two opposite sidewalls and a v-shaped notch; a ring-shapedelement mounted at least partially in the v-shaped notch; a fishing rodcomprising: a pole a line attached to the pole; and a hook attached tothe line and shaped so as to be capable of hooking the ring-shapedelement.
 2. The kit of claim 1, wherein the game table defines a rounddisk.
 3. The kit of claim 1, wherein: the game table defines a peg; andthe game piece body defines a hole dimensioned to receive the peg so asto removably mount the game piece to the game table.
 4. The kit of claim1, wherein the game table defines a hole capable of receiving an end ofthe pole.
 5. The kit of claim 1, wherein the game piece is labeled witha number.
 6. The kit of claim 1, wherein the ring-shaped element ismounted at least partially in the v-shaped notch with a central axisoriented substantially perpendicular to each of the two oppositesidewalls.
 7. The kit of claim 1, further comprising a bobber threadedonto the line.
 8. The kit of claim 1, wherein the hook consists of asingle-pronged hook.
 9. The kit of claim 1, wherein the hook comprises atreble hook.
 10. The kit of claim 1, further comprising a hook clipconnector attaching the hook to the line.
 11. The kit of claim 1,further comprising a second game piece, the second game piece removablymountable to the game table and comprising: a second game piece bodydefining two second opposite sidewalls and a second v-shaped notch; anda second ring-shaped element mounted at least partially in the secondv-shaped notch.
 12. The kit of claim 11, wherein the second ring-shapedelement has an inside diameter substantially different from that of thering-shaped element.
 13. The kit of claim 11, wherein: the second gamepiece body has a maximum height and a maximum width substantially thesame as those of the game piece body; and the second ring-shaped elementhas an inside diameter substantially different from that of thering-shaped element.
 14. The kit of claim 11, wherein: the second gamepiece body has a maximum height and a maximum width substantiallydifferent from those of the game piece body; and the second ring-shapedelement has an inside diameter substantially different from that of thering-shaped element.
 15. The kit of claim 1, further comprising a rockerdefining an arcuate edge, and removably attachable to the game tablesuch that the arcuate edge is oriented away from the game table.
 16. Amethod of playing a game comprising the steps of: receiving a gametable; removably mounting a game piece to a game table, the game piececomprising: a game piece body defining two opposite sidewalls and av-shaped notch; a ring-shaped element mounted at least partially in thev-shaped notch; receiving a fishing rod comprising; a pole; a lineattached to the pole; a hook attached to the line and shaped so as to becapable of hooking the ring-shaped element; and manipulating the fishingrod to cause the hook to hook the ring-shaped element.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising the step of manipulating the fishing rod tolift the game piece away from the game table.
 18. The method of claim16, wherein the ring-shaped element is mounted at least partially in thev-shaped notch with a central axis oriented substantially perpendicularto each of the two opposite sidewalls.